NMa: TV Offering Football Unnecessarily Restricted

After reconsidering its earlier ruling, the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) is still of the opinion that the present joint arrangements with regard to the sale of TV rights to live football matches of the Dutch Premier League unnecessarily limit the range of matches offered on TV. As a result, competition between clubs is eliminated entirely and other TV channels are excluded from broadcasting live Premier League matches. For this reason, following an administrative appeal, NMa has upheld its earlier decision not to grant an exemption for the joint sale through Eredivisie N.V. (ENV) of the broadcasting rights to live Premier League matches. A form of solidarity between the clubs, with a view to ensuring balanced competition, is possible without the joint sale of broadcasting rights, according to NMa. NMa is awaiting proposals from ENV with regard to a new solidarity scheme.

This decision by NMa means that the clubs will no longer be able to negotiate the sale of their broadcasting rights jointly with broadcasters. This opens the way to a larger offering of live football matches on TV and more attention to clubs which are not amongst the top clubs. In addition, it offers scope for new initiatives, such as joint ventures between regional clubs to sell their broadcasting rights jointly. Applications for joint ventures of this sort have already been submitted to NMa.

In taking this decision, NMa has adhered to the line taken by the European Commission, which does not permit the joint sale of all the rights to broadcast football matches to a single interested party in hadeach country. The Commission recently approved an amended arrangement drawn up by UEFA. Due to the specific characteristics of the Champions League (the large number of different clubs from a large number of different countries, the large number of broadcasters, differences with regard to who owns the broadcasting rights and the knockout system) considerable efficiency advantages are obtained from the centralised sale of broadcasting rights. This does not apply to the sale through ENV of broadcasting rights in the Netherlands.

In the present situation, Eredivisie N.V. sold the entire package of matches of the 18 Premier League clubs to Canal+. As a result, only a limited number of matches (at most 52 of the 306 matches) are broadcast through the pay TV channel Canal+. NMa has ruled that the exclusivity granted as a result of this and the agreed restrictions on the number of matches broadcast unnecessarily restricts competition between the clubs. This results in an increase in costs and reduces consumers' freedom of choice.

Every club is the owner of the broadcasting rights to its own home matches and the present arrangements restrict their freedom to trade these rights too much. By prohibiting the joint sale of broadcasting rights, other broadcasters may also acquire rights to live matches.